A History of St. Patrick

Happy St. Patrick's Day folks. I have you all have had a chance to celebrate today. Just be careful tonight. Here in the Ozarks, St. Patrick's Day is one of the biggest nights of the year for DUI arrests. That would be no fun.

St Patrick is most commonly known as the patron saint of Ireland. The interesting thing is that he is not actually Irish by birthright. He served in Ireland, and became an ex-officio Irishman.

Patrick was born in approximately 370-395 C.E. There are differing views about the exact year and place of his birth. According to one school of opinion, he was born about 390 A.D., while the other school says it is about 373 AD. His real place of birth is said to be in either Scotland or Roman England. His real name was probably Maewyn Succat. Patricius was his Romanicized name. The name Patrick was kind of a nickname.

Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer. He grew up in a very normal fashion for that time and place in the Empire of Rome. However, one day a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped him. They sold him into slavery in Ireland. He was there for 6 years, and was in prison most of the time. During this time, Patrick became very religious. Legend contends that he had a vision of God, which told him to escape on a ship.

He was able to finally escape, and made his escape to Britain and France. There he joined a monastery and studied under St. Germain, the bishop of Auxerre. He spent around 12 years in religious training. When he became a bishop, he dreamed that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God. The Confessio, Patrick's spiritual autobiography, is the most important document regarding this. It tells of a dream after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed "The Voice of the Irish."

So he set out for Ireland with the Pope's blessings. There he converted the Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly Pagans, to Christianity. He was confident in the Lord, he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. And, in a diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to a kinglet here and a lawgiver there,but accepted none from any.

Indeed, Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. Through active preaching, he made important converts even among the royal families. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times,but escaped each time. For 20 years he had traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He founded schools and churches. He helped to develop a solid group of native Irish clergy, and he fostered the growth of monasticism, established dioceses, and held church councils. A good deal of the Catholic roots of Ireland came as a direct result of his work in Ireland.

Patrick's doctrine is considered orthodox and has been interpreted as anti-Pelagian (against a notion of free will playing a part in a person's salvation.). Although he is not particularly noted as a man of learning, a few of his writings remain importantt: his Confession, a reply to his detractors, and several letters. The Lorica ("Breastplate"), a famous hymn attributed to Patrick, is also around. By the end of the 7th century, Patrick had become a legendary figure, and the legends have continued to grow through the years, not unlike the legend of William Wallace in Scotland. There are lots of legends associated with St Patrick. It is said that he used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity. The biggest legend, though, is associated with the so-called curse of God he placed upon poisonous snakes. He is also credited with having drove all the snakes from the Emerald Isle.

St. Patrick's mission in Ireland lasted for around 20 years. So, he really was able to get a lot done in a little bit of time. He passed away on March 17, 461. So, that is where we get the date. The celebration is now more secular than religous. Not as many people celebrate the holy day associated with March 17th. Many pagan symbols have also now been associated with the holiday: the leprechaun, shamrocks, the Blarney Stone, and the like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day,

Ray Province, The Celtic Ozarkian

Ray is a retired minister and now IT programmer. He owns Celtic Ozark Solutions, and It company specializing in website content and development, SEO, and social media integration. He also writes on all things Irish and Scottish at http://ping.fm/qCfGw

Change Yourself from the Inside Out

We all have people that we admire. They can even become status symbols for us. They can provide you with hope and inspiration to change yourself from the inside out, as it were.

The problem with our society today, though, is that it is possible to have the appearance of health, wealth, and happiness. This is especially true of famous, rich people, who have the money to hire people to manage their brand and identity. One need not look past the saga with Tiger Wood to realize this. His team is working hard to show the world he is a changed man.

When we find ourselves in need of change, we often start in the same way. We change our house, we change our car. We try to “look the part” until we can “be the part.” If we just get the right types of possessions, it will change us.

Just look at the problems, though, the lottery winners endure. Many of those people end up broke, not too long after acquiring their fortune. They were able to change the outside, but did not have the inward change needed, the maturity needed, to handle that kind of money.

So, it is time to change yourself from the inside out. You will need to be sure, however, what it is you want to become. Are you going to follow the trends of the world. In that world, busy-ness, power, oneupmanship are often the kind of traits admired.

Abundant life is only going to be found in God. As we change ourselves from the inside out, we will develop a deeper connection with God. This connection will cultivate the inner maturity needed to handle whatever comes our way. Don’t wait on someone or something to change you.

We’ll talk again soon,

Raymond C. Province, M.Div.

The Race of Life

You are involved in the race of life. Put another way, you are in the race of your life. This race started the day you were born, and will end on the day you die. No one knows exactly how much time this will be. But one thing is certain: you will get to make a lot of decisions about what you do with that life. As the Psalmist said, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should (Psalms 90:12) TLB.

The call to life a life of joy and abundance has been around for a long time. For example, Moses told the children of Israel “I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction…Now choose life.” The sad truth is, many will not.

Jesus said something very similar: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)” There is a way that we can all, then, learn to live life in the fullest. So, what is that way?

The first step is recognizing that we will die. Many people try to live their life in denial of this fact. Embrassing it can help us to treasure the days we have. You only get so many.
The second step is to choose life. Inside all of us is a dream of what we want life to be, that ebs and flows with time. It can help to guide us, if we are willing to listen.
The third step can be best thought of in a question: if you had only one month to live, what would you do with your life? Would you see old friends, mend fences, prepare yourself for what comes after death?
Sit down today and take a piece of paper and pen, and write out what you would do with your one month to live. Make a change in the race of life. Then give yourself a challenge. Try to accomplish as much of that dream as you can in the next thirty days.

Raymond C. Province, M. Div. is a retired minister and owner of A Higher Faith.com, a website dedicated to living a life of faith. You can reach him at celticozarksolutions@gmail.com, or @celticozarkian on Twitter.